Rates of bowel and colon cancer have been increasing over the last two decades. For Devi Sridhar, the chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, what we eat could be one of the main reasons.
The rise, she tells Nosheen Iqbal, isn’t just due to wider screening or better diagnosis, and it isn’t only found in one particular country, but across the developed world. Scientists have been looking for a likely culprit for a number of years and now, slowly, one is emerging: ultra-processed food.
From seemingly healthy snacks to long-life supermarket breads, these foods are everywhere – they can comprise up to 50 to 60% of our diets. So, why are they being linked to a rise in cancers, and what should be done about it?
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